W1D2: Vibe Prototyping

On Friday of the first week of the course, you’ll bring in something you’ve vibe-coded and have classmates test it.

Preparation

Do this with one or two classmates if it’s easy, otherwise solo is fine.

Do this playfully and don’t put a lot of time in. The goal isn’t quality, but rather to set us up for our Friday activity. We’ll “think deeply” afterwards.

Step 1: Make a prototype

Vibe-code a prototype of an interactive system, ideally one that uses AI, where a fellow student could be a user. Here are two suggestions:

• A professional communication assistant (to help students write emails to professors, prospective employers, etc.)
• A weekly planning coach (to help students plan their routines and weekly rhythms)

Use any vibe-coding environment you want, as long as you’ll be able to save your work and have someone else try it (e.g., by handing them your laptop or phone). A few options (which will be perpetually out of date):

• ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini all have this built-in (sometimes called Canvas or Artifacts).
• Firebase Studio
• Replit
  • You may find this useful: Vibe Coding 101 with Replit
• You can use GitHub Copilot in VS Code (join GitHub Education so you can use some pro features free).

Share your experiences on the course Teams channel!

Step 2: Prepare to test

• Ideate (with AI help if you want) two specific tasks that you’ll ask a classmate to perform using your prototype. Write down the instructions you’ll give them.
• Predict what response you’ll get.

In Class

Pair up with another team. Test each others’ prototypes using the tasks you wrote out.